Bad luck is good Luck for several teams entering 2011

Most years most teams like to go into the season creating at least some sort of vision that they can be the last team standing, the franchise hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy handed out at the end of the Super Bowl in February.

Arguably one-quarter of the league this year appear to have their sights set much lower … or would it be higher? They will be competing less for the championship and more for the consolation prize – first pick in the draft and the rights to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.

7. Buffalo – Ryan Fitzpatrick and Fred Jackson aren’t bad and the Bills defend the pass alright. They added Shaun Merriman, Nick Barnett and Marcell Dareus to the defense. There is some promise for the Bills to start improving. But they’re still closer to the bottom than the top, especially in a division with New England and the New York Jets. Bad enough to land Luck? I doubt it, but they are in the mix.

6. Miami – The Dolphins are running Chad Henne out at quarterback and he doesn’t seem to be getting much better. They jettisoned Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, hoping Daniel Thomas and Reggie Bush can provide some semblance of a running game. They aren’t very good, but a solid-to-strong defense led by Cameron Wake and Vontae Davis will keep them strong enough to finish somewhere outside the bottom of the pack. Luck would be the best quarterback to lead this team since Dan Marino retired. Unfortunately for those in south Florida, this team isn’t bad enough.

5. Washington – John Beck and Rex Grossman. An offensive line anchored in the middle by guys named Will Montgomery, Chris Chester and Kory Lichtensteiger. I don’t see a lot of reason for optimism in Washington this season. Add in a tough schedule and the Redskins will be in the mix for the top pick in the draft. This team can’t be trying to convince its fan base it is trying to win. They’re not my top guess for winning the Andrew Luck sweepstakes, but they are the first of my real, top-notch, true contenders.

4. Cincinnati – It just keeps getting weirder for the Bengals. This offseason they lost Carson Palmer to a retirement nobody is really convinced he wanted, but he simply tired of the act of owner Mike Brown. Andy Dalton is a rookie who might not really be ready to start. AJ Green should be a stud wideout, but can he be on this roster? Cedric Benson is pedestrian. There are pieces on the defense, but just a few years after it looked like Cincinnati might have some upside potential it now looks like they’ll be back in the mix for the top pick in the draft. Now, with a commitment seemingly made to Dalton, would Brown decide to pass on Luck? Unlikely, though Luck may be lucky if they do.

About The Author

Andy is co-founder and Managing Editor of Zoneblitz.com, with over 20 years of journalistic experience, and closer to 40 years of fanatical football fandom, which includes recording--and re-watching (but not re-broadcasting without consent of the National Football League) Super Bowl XVI at least 100 times until the VHS tape wore out.
He's also usually the one manning the @Zoneblitzcom twitter account, so you can harass him directly there, if you'd like.